News

Sweet win for Titahi Bay surf boat crew

Titahi Bay heralded a new chapter in one of the fiercest
rivalries in New Zealand sport when they handed the Piha surf boat
crew a rare defeat on their home beach yesterday.

It's been a tough week for the Kapiti Coast crew, left out of
the New Zealand team to face their Australian counterparts in Waihi
Beach next week.

That spot instead went to reigning national champions Piha, an
experienced outfit swept by Mark Bourneville, who were looking to
celebrate their national call-up with victory in the Piha Big Wave
Classic.

"It was pretty much perfect for us today," a jubilant Jono Boyd
explained. "There were great waves but there was also a lot
of rowing out to the cans and back which people thought was one of
our downfalls - we more than held our own. We've never lacked
motivation to beat Piha but it really added to it over the last
week and we were determined to work even harder. That hard
work has all been paying off and we're just trying to maintain this
level until nationals."

With most of the crew still under-23, Titahi Bay are rebuilding
a proud surf boat legacy at the club, which has gathered a cluster
of national titles. They can now add a national series title, with
the youngsters now claiming wins in two of the first three rounds,
with only the Waihi event to come.

As Boyd points out, their comparative youth is relative to how
many years they've all been pulling oars.

"People say we're a young crew but we've been rowing together
for about seven years. We're not lacking experience in any
conditions and all those years of rowing are paying off.
Rowing together for so long has meant we've got pretty good
cohesion in the boat too."

That helped in the dramatic final, with McDowell edging the boat
sideways near the end to pull down the winning wave, while Piha
slipped off the back. Red Beach finished a wave back in
third, while carnage reigned in the rest of the field as a set came
sweeping through.

Elsewhere, however, the home beach advantage definitely proved
its worth.

The Piha open women's crew of Katrina Gouldstone, Gracey
Monteith, Annelies Visser, Mariska Visser and sweep Dan Clarke
grabbed their first notable victory by storming home in their
final, beating another fast-rising crew, Omanu into second.
Red Beach, who at one stage snapped a sweep oar in two places, came
home third.

The Piha Pistols continued their remarkable reign with another
win in the under-23 ranks - in seven years of racing together,
Cedric Bourneville, Ludovik Bourneville, Oliver Sawbridge, Benjamin
Richards and Jean-Paul Smit have only lost once through the
under-19 and under-23 grades.

Bethells Beach won both the under-21 and under-19 women's
divisions, while the strong Tannum Sands crew from Queensland were
outstanding in taking out the under-19 men's final.

The final round of the national series is the North Island
championships in Waihi Beach next weekend, which will feature the
trans-Tasman row-off on the Saturday, followed by the champion of
champion race on the Sunday.

Final results from the third round of the national surf boat
series, the Piha Big Wave Classic, at Piha today: